Very sad news, one of the game's great characters when I first started watching regularly in the mid 1970's.

One particular memory sticks in my mind. Hull were playing Saints at the Boulevard when the players were waiting to form a scrum right in front of the Threepenny Stand. Somebody chucked an empty whisky bottle onto the speedway track and it bounced onto the pitch and slid across the grass, ending up right at the feet of Dave Chisnall. He slowly turned and looked up at all the grinning fans, seemingly staring them out for a few moments, then picked the bottle up and, for all the World it looked like he was going to sling it straight back at the crowd. The chaos that ensued as everybody tried to get out of the way was hilarious. He obviously thought so judging by the big grin on his face.

I can confirm 30+ less sales for Scotland vs Italy at Workington, after this afternoons test purchase for the Tonga match, £7.50 is extremely reasonable, however a £2.50 'delivery' fee for a walk in purchase is beyond taking the mickey, good luck with that, it's cheaper on the telly.

The ball was passed by the scrum half, to the prop forward,stocky and tall. He dummies, side steps and he's under the sticks,and his name is Dave Chisnall. RIP big fella, you'll be sorely missed. Many fond memories as a young lad of watching you play for Warrington. Had the pleasure of chatting to you sometimes too. A genuine nice fella and one hell of a prop forward. Sleep well.

The much-travelled Dave Chisnall was one of the best prop forwards in the game in the 1970s and 1980s and was a great character too. He was brought to Barrow for the 1980/81 season at a time when coach frank Foster was looking for a pack leader. Dave was seen as the man to do that job and Barrow had no hesitation in paying out the not inconsiderable sum of £7,500 to ensure they got their man. It turned out to be money well spent. Barrow were something of a yo-yo side at this period in time – far too good for Division Two but always fighting relegation when in Division One. Prior to Dave’s arrival the relegation fights had always ended in failure but with the big man leading Barrow around the park they managed to finish the 1980/81 season in a respectable mid-table position in the top league. There was also the added bonus of reaching a major final (for the first time since 1967) when the side reached the final of the John Player Trophy. Unfortunately Barrow lost that game (ironically against one of Dave’s former clubs – Warrington) but the interest generated in the town in the build up to that match was incredible. Dave had played in all but one of Barrow’s matches in 1980/81 and his influence on the team cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, he left Barrow (transferring to Warrington) after playing just three first team matches in 1981/82 but will always be remembered by the Craven Park supporters for his massive contribution to the Barrow cause during his time with the club. Throughout his career Dave was regularly ridiculed and cat-called by opposition supporters for his size. He appeared to be overweight and unfit but a brief look at his career and achievements show this to be far from the case. Dave had begun his Rugby League career in the amateur ranks with Parr Labour Club ARLFC and progressed to the professional ranks when he signed for Leigh RLFC in 1967. Eighteen years (and several clubs) later the curtain came down on a fantastic career when he played his final senior match (for Keighley) in 1985. His love affair with professional Rugby League didn’t end there though. He moved into the coaching side of the game and enjoyed spells as coach to both the Leigh RLFC and St Helens RLFC Alliance teams before reappearing briefly at senior level as head coach to Runcorn (from June 1989 to October 1990). During his long and illustrious career Dave played well in excess of 500 senior professional matches and amassed somewhere in the region of 80 tries. He was a Lancashire and Great Britain player and toured Australasia with the Great Britain squad in 1970. These statistics set Dave aside as one of the greatest forwards in the history of the game. He probably enjoyed his best days in Rugby League during his two spells with the Warrington club. The following profile is taken from the book “Warrington RLFC – 100 Greats”, which was written by Eddie Fuller and Gary Slater:Dave Chisnall was one of Warrington’s greatest entertainers, being a prop-forward with a sense of humour and a flair for the dramatic. During his first spell with the club, ‘Chissie’ was one of the best props in the business, winning 4 England caps and making 5 appearances for Lancashire. The front row of Chisnall, hooker Kevin Ashcroft and blindside-prop Brian Brady was the foundation for much of the remarkable success achieved by Alex Murphy's team. Billy Benyon brought Chisnall back to Wilderspool in October 1981 for his strength, experience and bare-faced cheek. Against Bradford Northern at Wilderspool in September 1982, for example, Chisnall scored an outrageous try when he twice sold dummies to would-be tacklers on the half-way line before charging clear to touch down at the Railway End. Chisnall had first signed for Warrington more than a decade earlier, in August 1971, when Murphy paid Leigh a club record £8,000 for the 5ft 9in, sixteen stone forward. The following month he was sent off for flattening Peter Walker, the Bradford hooker, and banned for six matches, but he soon settled down to become one of the leading lights in the team. For three seasons, Chisnall hardly missed a match as Warrington won the League Leaders' rose bowl (1972/73), the Captain Morgan Trophy, the Player's No.6 Trophy, the Challenge Cup and the Club Championship (all 1973/74) and reached the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy final and Challenge Cup final again (both in 1974/75). Chisnall was the Warrington captain for the return trip to Wembley but, five months later, he fell out with Murphy and was sold to Swinton for £5,000. Spells with Leigh, St Helens and Barrow followed before he returned to Wilderspool. ‘It was an incredible honour for me to captain the side at Wembley,’ said Chisnall. ‘It was such a huge occasion. I was quite calm after we'd won it the year before but it was terribly disappointing when we lost. Playing at Wilderspool was always special, particularly in the big games. We had a big rivalry with Featherstone and Dewsbury during my first spell with the club and the ground was always packed when they came to play. I enjoyed coming back to play at the ground when I was at other clubs too. The fans always treated me as one of their own and there was a great rapport.’